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A note from member Duane L. Herrmann:
The site is searchable. I have about a dozen poems there. Two of the photos, the sunset and the awesome grass fire, are mine.
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Robert W. Phillips joined Kansas Authors Club in 2024 and has been studying the book business. Robert has attended our convention and our monthly programs, he asks questions and studies what other authors are doing, and he has published a sweet memoir of growing up on a mid-century farm in Kansas. His author newsletters are also well presented. I appreciate his story-telling approach and I especially like that he acknowledges the value of community in each newsletter. Note at the bottom where he encourages people to shop at local bookstores and links his affiliations, including Kansas Authors Club. Well done, Robert! You can subscribe to Robert's newsletter by clicking through to his website.   I have been very fortunate to attend the Hines VA Blind Rehabilitation Center here in Chicago. I arrived on January 12 and anticipate returning to Kansas on February 7, 2026. The classes have been very intensive and should provide me with opportunities I have not had since losing my vision several years ago. This training is available to any veteran who is legally blind for any reason, even if it is not related to military service. If you are aware of any veteran in this situation, please contact me, and I would be more than happy to assist them in receiving these services. They provided us with numerous devices to assist with reading. We were given Meta Glasses during this visit. With these glasses, you can look at something and ask, “Meta, what am I looking at?” and the glasses will give you a full description. I returned from Hines, and within a couple of days, my wife Beverly’s mother had a stroke, so here we are in Tyler, Texas. I was able to bring my computer, but I have had very little time to work on my next book. The Birth and Demise of a Small Flint Hills Town Virgil, Kansas, is a very unique community that I was fortunate to be born into in 1944. I spent my formative years there, growing up and developing my love of rural life. The community began to be settled by pioneers just a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Hundreds, even thousands, of small communities like Virgil were being formed not only in Kansas but across the entire country at that same time. Join me in researching old newspapers, visiting cemeteries, exploring museums, looking over old land records, talking with individuals from the area, and reviewing numerous school yearbooks. Of course, we can't forget attending the Virgil gathering held every quarter in Olpe, Kansas at the Chicken House. I hope all my newsletter friends are doing well and staying healthy. Bless you all. -Robert, The Storyteller    Kim Andrews wrote an article that was recently published in the December 2025 issue of Ceramics Monthly magazine. This was a feature about St. John artist Carol Long, who is known for her handmade tile and decorative pottery.
A longtime magazine editor and writer, Andrews entered the ministry about 15 years ago but was drawn to write about Long's pottery when she visited her studio one Christmas during an open house. She says her work was unlike anything she'd ever seen. American Academy of Poets Announcement: We’re thrilled to announce the twelve new guest editors for #PoemADay in 2026, who will each curate a month of poems: Geffrey Davis, Chris Abani, Danusha Laméris, Dorianne Laux, Hala Alyan, Sam Sax, Oliver Baez Bendorf, Charif Shanahan, Maya C. Popa, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Denise Low, and Edward Hirsch. Click the link to learn more: https://poets.org/announcing-2026-guest-editors-poem-day....  November: Denise Low
Denise Low is the author of more than forty books of poetry, essays, and criticism. Her most recent full-length poetry collections include House of Grace, House of Blood (University of Arizona Press, 2024), winner of the Nelson Poetry Book Award, and Wing (Red Mountain Press, 2021), a finalist for the Hefner Heitz Kansas Book Award. Low’s works of prose include the memoir The Turtle’s Beating Heart: One Family’s Story of Lenape Survival (University of Nebraska Press, 2017) and Natural Theologies: Literature of the New Middle West (Backwaters Press, 2011), the first critical study of contemporary poets from the Mid-Plains. She also edited Kansas Poems of William Stafford (Woodley Press, 2010). Low is a founding member of the Indigenous Nations Poets (In-Na-Po) and has served on its national board since 2020. She is also a literary programmer for the arts nonprofit The 222. She served as poet laureate of Kansas from 2007 to 2009. From 2008 to 2013, Low was a board member of the Associated Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) and was its president from 2011 to 2012. She has taught at the University of Kansas, the University of Richmond, and for twenty-seven years at Haskell Indian Nations University where she founded the creative writing program. She currently teaches at Baker University’s School of Professional and Graduate Studies in Baldwin City, Kansas.  Kansas poet Cheryl Seely Savage was recently published in Kansas! magazine for their final issue celebrating their 80th anniversary year. In her words:
“I’m absolutely honored to be in the final 80th anniversary celebratory issue of Kansas! (magazine). When I was asked to write a poem entitled “The Spirit of Kansas,” I knew I had to include as many historical aspects of Kansas as I could. I wanted to pay homage to all the creatures and people who have lived in and loved this land. I needed to recognize indigenous displacement as well as immigrant farming. I felt compelled to mention the ancient sea that covered most of the plains, as well as the ingenuity of wind farming. Kansas truly does ‘honor the grit’ and I feel so privileged to live in this beautiful, historical, continuously motivated ‘fly-over’ state!” The issue is available for purchase at https://www.travelks.com/kansas-magazine/  Member Mike Matson has been hosting a daily radio talk show/recorded podcast on KMAN in Manhattan. WHAT’S THE SHOW ABOUT?
Digging deeper into Manhattan and regional community conversations, business and societal trends, policy ideas from every level of government, with a particular emphasis on reason and common sense. We strongly believe the key to today’s societal ills are members of society who think longer, deeper, and more critically. Journalism is the one constant to allow that, and it’s our belief this new talk show can help work toward that goal in our community. Community service in a way that says it out loud without being self-serving. This talk show is deeper than “news,” It is an interview and discussion vehicle designed specifically to arm listeners with truth and broaden their horizons on subject matter important to their family, to Manhattan, the region, and Kansas. It’s not gotcha or confrontational, it’s the gaining of new knowledge and motivation. It’s “help us understand.” It’s the middle of the broad thought road, where the overwhelming majority of people in this community live – politically and emotionally. It’s logic and common sense. The show is not over-reaction or under-reaction. It’s reaction. Guests will come from the public and private sector, non-profits, government at every level (elected and appointed), individuals involved with community growth, expectations of public schools, community quality of life. The show is rational, authentic, and genuine. It’s not bombast, but there is just enough show biz and pizzazz to make it appealing, set it apart and gain a following. Broadcast live on NewsRadio KMAN (1350 AM, 93.3 and 93.7 FM), livestreamed on YouTube and recorded and made available as a podcast on the KMAN website and anywhere podcasts are available. Digging deeper into community conversations YOUR HOST. Mike Matson, Manhattan Mercury columnist, award winning author and journalist. A lifelong Kansan, Mike was born in Manhattan, and his career spans radio and TV news, political tactician and press secretary for a Governor, leadership development, system and issue advocacy. Mike is a seasoned broadcaster, columnist, author and manager, well-known in the Manhattan community and across Kansas. He brings thirty years management and creative experience in public and private sector statewide systems.  Robert Stewart's personal essay, "The Hole" has been published on Nov. 17, 2025, in the journal Vox Populi. The essay relates his experiences and observations on being a ditch digger.
Julie A. Sellers has published a collection of six poems in the Journal of L.M. Montgomery Studies in its special collection, "L.M. Montgomery and the Politics of Home."   Help us celebrate the writing and publishing accomplishments of Kansas Authors!
If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form. Congratulations to Member Mark Scheel!  It's with immense gratitude that I'm once again announcing a literary trifecta of my writing having been accepted. My essay "Fitting Pipe with a College Degree" will appear in the forthcoming issue of 105 Meadowlark Reader. https://www.105meadowlarkreader.com/ My memoir excerpt "The Doorway to Death and Survival" was included in the latest issue of The Writer's Journal Vol. 2. https://writers-journal.com/ My poem "The Invincibility of the Moment" was published in the new issue of The Soliloquist Journal. https://thesoliloquistmagazine.my.canva.site/#about A sincere thanks to all the editors and publishers for selecting my work! Mark Scheel  Help us celebrate the writing and publishing accomplishments of Kansas Authors!
If you have news of writing events that would be of interest to all Kansas Authors Club members, or if you are a member (dues current) who would like to announce an achievement, please submit your news via this form. Member Duane L. Herrmann from Topeka shares some of his publication successes for the month of June. Let's hear from some more members! Send us your success stories. Submit them here. 105 Meadowlark Reader, #9 - Was it Luck?
Listen and Be Heard – three poems: Not As White, Ashes and Bones, & Two Sides of Me Text to Power Telling - That Night Harnisch Acre - two poems: Those Who, & Necessary Darkness Heron Clan XII - Arsenic is Free, p.66 Sheree L. Wingo is now the assistant editor/staff writer/office manager of the St. Francis Herald/Bird City Times newspaper in Cheyenne County. She writes and photographs most of the newspaper. Sheree says, "This a dream come true job!!" CONGRATULATIONS, Sheree!from your friends and fellow writers at
Kansas Authors Club.  One of Iris Craver's poems, "The Kitchen Table", was recently selected for publication in the first Poets for Peace anthology, which includes peace poems from over 170 poets who have contributed to this endeavor to celebrate peace and a better world for all people. This book represents a positive step toward fulfilling our universal need for a world where loving kindness and respect replace violence and aggression. Poets know that words have power, and poetry is a sturdy vehicle to influence how people think about the world and the future of this planet that is our home. Poets for Peace was created in June 2024 following a presentation by Ihor Pavlyuk, the People's Poet of Ukraine, at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Pavlyuk is a highly respected poet and was nominated this year for the Nobel Prize in Literature. As an orphan himself, he is highly motivated to help orphans, and he inspired the audience to aid his efforts. After the convention, Poets for Peace was created as a vehicle to help gather resources to help foster peace and provide some assistance to Ukraine's orphans. All proceeds from the creation and sales of this book will go directly to help the ever-growing number of orphans in Ukraine.
You can order a copy at https://www.amazon.com/Poets-Peace-Sunflowers-Rising-Anthology/dp/B0F99G1VH7 Paula's essay "Alaskan Migrations" won first place in the nonfiction category of SouthWest Writers 2024 annual contest and was published in the anthology Mosaic Voices. "Alaskan Migrations" also won first place in its category at the New Mexico Press Women's annual writing contest.   Member Annette Billings presented Mother Song: A Poem Play by Daughters, with Dr. Jennifer J. Gordon, at Lowman United Methodist Church in Topeka on May 4th.
The pair read poems about mothers experiencing grief and ways to overcome it. View the story as covered by WIBW, Channel 13, Topeka.  Issue #9, the Luck issue, of 105 Meadowlark Reader has stories taking place in 31 Kansas counties and features 30 authors. Eleven stories in this issue are by authors new to 105. This issue will be available for purchase in Kansas independent boosktores and via the Meadowlark website in May 2025. Kansas Authors Club members with essays in the Spring 2025 issue are: Boyd Bauman Brian Daldorph Beth Gulley Roger Heineken Jerilynn Jones Henrikson Duane L. Herrmann Vicki L. Julian Amy Kliewer Kerry Moyer Robert W. Phillips Robert Rebein Cynthia C. Schaker Mason Taylor-Taite Alicia Troike Brenda L. White Sheree L. Wingo Open Reading Period for Issue #10
May 1 - June 30, 2025 Theme: Work Member Cynthia Chauhan, from Wichita, recently had an article published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. The article is titled, "Heart Failrue in Patients with Cancer--A Patient's Perspective."  Heart Failure in Patients with Cancer – A Patient's Perspective
Chauhan, Cynthia Journal of Cardiac Failure, Volume 31, Issue 2, 464 Jan '25 progress:
Spillwords, posted one poem - "Who am I Today" 'Abdu'l-Baha: Serving Humanity - includes three stories (one in English for the first time) Vixen of Verse - posted a link to his work originally posted on The Short of It Harnisch Acres - short story about a boy finding a snake in the shower, in the basement. Plus a few things accepted for future publication. And, Please, PLEASE everyone, vote for his sci fi novel, Earth to Makana. It now needs less than 950 votes before the publisher will offer a contract to publish. The link to vote is: ‘Earth to Makana: the Journal of a Planetary Pioneer’ By Duane L Herrmann | Something or Other Publishing, LLC In June of 2021 I was interviewed for Belgian television. The documentary by Charles Antoine de Rouvre on Soeur Sourire was broadcasted on June 11th at 9pm on Belgium TV for Zeta Productions. "Qui a tue voix de Dieu?" (Who Killed the Voice of God?") I was interviewed for this program regarding my book, "Soeur Sourire: The Life and Death of the Singing Nun". It was during Covid-19 restrictions, so RTBF sent a cameraman to my house who did all the video and audio. Aaron Chervenak was very gracious and professional. I have also been interviewed or consulted on numerous projects on Soeur Sourire, including the CD from Music Choice of Germany entitled, "The Best of Soeur Sourire".  Member Mark G. Wentling will be inducted into WSU's Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame on February 4 at 2 p.m. in Wiederman Hall. He will also hold a book event at Watermark Books and Cafe located at 4701 E. Douglas at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb 6. Mark's two recent books, Jackleg Boys and Falling Seven Times will be available.
This afternoon at the KPR studio in Lawrence Kaye McIntyre recorded me reading my poem, Armistice, from To The Stars Through Difficulties: A Kansas Renga in 150 Voices. Plus a short bit about what inspired to me write the poem. Kaye will use the recording in a Kansas Day program, KPR Presents, FM 91.5, at 6-7 PM on Sunday, January 26. A Kansas Renga was the second book Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, then Kansas Poet Laureate, created and edited, for the Kansas Sesquicentennial in 2011. The first book was Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems. I told Kaye I felt so honored. Poetry is not really my genre. Thanks for reading, Peg Nichols Congratulations, Peg!
We will tune in to KPR on Kansas Day! |
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